Morocco Becomes Fourth African Country to Ever Reach World Cup Quarter-Finals

Morocco surprised Spain to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals, with right-back Achraf Hakimi delivering the game-winning kick in a penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw at Education City. 

After Spain missed three penalty attempts and went down 3-0 in the shootout, Paris Saint-Germain defender Hakimi scored with a Panenka penalty. Morocco also set the record by reaching their first quarterfinal, being the only African country to do so. 

For the first time and after defeating the 2010 world champion, Morocco will play in a World Cup quarterfinal. If Morocco defeats Portugal, the Atlas Lions would become the first African nation to reach the semifinals. 

Spain tried to score its way to a win over Morocco. It made and executed a significant number of passes. All of those passes, however, did not result in any goals. Spain was unable to score even after a 30-minute extra-time. Morocco, on the other hand, advanced to its first-ever World Cup quarterfinal eliminating Spain after its players missed all three of their penalties. The North African Amazigh team now has the opportunity to advance even further in this World Cup. They will not be overshadowed by their opponents in the following round, and they might yet go to the semifinal.

The North African team had only surrendered one goal in the tournament, and their defensive strategy proved key in defeating Luis Enrique’s team. Although Spain had a monopoly over ball ownership, Morocco didn’t look troubled by Spain’s seeming domination of the game. The teams’  failure to score throughout regular and extra time ensured the game proceeded to penalties where Morocco excelled.

Morocco and Spain’s long standing historical, geographical and political conflicts heightened the mood, but it was the Moroccan supporters’ spectacular display of color and noise that enabled their team to make the game so difficult for Spain. 

With yesterday’s win, Morocco has become now the fourth African nation to advance to the quarter final in the history of the FIFA World Cup, after Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana.